(ABOVE, L-R: Joshua Franco and Oscar Negrete fought to a split draw in the main event of

Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN on Oct. 4 at the Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center)

COSTA MESA, Calif. (Oct. 4 , 2018): Oscar “El Jaguar” Negrete (18-1-1, 7 KOs) of Tierraalta, Colombia and Joshua “The Professor” Franco (14-1-1, 7 KOs) of San Antonio, Texas fought to a ten-round split draw in the main event of the Oct. 4 edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN at the Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, Calif. Negrete retained his NABF Bantamweight Title in a hard-fought fight in which both men threw over 1,000 punches. Each fighter received a score of 96-94, while one judge scored it a 95-95, resulting in a split draw.

“It was a great fight, but I felt I won,” said Oscar Negrete. “He [Franco] threw a lot of punches, but I blocked most of them. To tell the truth, it made me uncomfortable when he threw a lot and then suddenly clinched. He’s very talented. I give him my respect. He is a warrior. It ended in a draw, but we’ll see if we get the rematch.”

“I can’t complain. It was a close fight,” said Joshua Franco. “I landed the better shots and hurt him with clean punches. He kept throwing and throwing, which is not what I expected, but I adjusted. I would love a rematch.”

In the co-main, Danielito Zorrilla (9-0, 8 KOs) of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico stopped Dakota Linger (10-1-2, 6 KOs) of Buckhannon, West Virginia at 2:59 of the third round of a super lightweight bout originally slated for eight rounds.

“I did well and fought calmly, like a professional,” said Danielito Zorrilla. “I was comfortable and worked well. I have to talk to my promoter to see what’s next, but I want to fight before the year ends.”

Jousce Gonzalez (8-0-1, 8 KOs) of Glendora, California and Ivan Delgado (12-1-2, 5 KOs) of South Central fought to a six-round majority draw in a super featherweight clash. One judge scored the fight 58-56 in favor of Delgado, which was overruled by two scores of 57-57.

“It was a good fight, but I won,” said Jousce Gonzalez. He’s a tough fighter, but I felt I landed more shots and controlled the fight at a distance.”

“I felt I did enough to win,” said Ivan Delgado. “He missed most shots, while landed harder and cleaner punches.”

“I did a good job and finished matters in the last round,” said Carlos Caraballo. “He did his job. He came out hard and he worked, but I did enough to make the referee end the fight.”

Negrete vs. Franco was a 10-round fight for the NABF Bantamweight Title presented by Golden Boy Promotions. The event was sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,” Hennessy, “Never Stop, Never Settle,”and Venom. The event took place on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018 at The Hangar at The OC Fair and Event Center.

UFC and WOWOW sign new broadcast deal that will bring live events to fans in Japan

TOKYO, JAPAN – UFC® today confirmed that it will return to WOWOW, the Premium Pay TV network, the UFC’s original home in Japan. Broadcast begins this week and kicks off with the biggest global Mixed Martial Arts event of the year, UFC® 229: KHABIB vs. MCGREGOR, presented by Harley-Davidson. In the main event, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (26-0, fighting out of Dagestan, Russia) battles former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor (21-3, fighting out of Dublin, Ireland) which will be streamed live on WOWOW Members On-Demand on Sunday, October 7 starting at 11:00am JST.

“We are thrilled to continue our long-standing relationship with WOWOW, reuniting the most established Pay TV broadcaster in Japan, with the premier MMA promotion in the world,” said UFC Vice President APAC, Kevin Chang. “We’d like to welcome our loyal fans back with the biggest event in MMA history, UFC 229.”

In Japan, WOWOW will offer the exclusive live transmission of UFC’s Pay-Per-View (PPV) events, such as UFC 229. UFC in conjunction with WOWOW will be providing fans in Japan a home to watch the most anticipated events of the year. Subscribers to the channel can watch the program live and later on VOD via WOWOW Members On-Demand and WOWOW.

UFC provides English-speaking fans around the world access to live events, fights on demand and original content through the dedicated OTT platform, UFC FIGHT PASS® .

“WOWOW UFC fans have been eagerly waiting the return of UFC to WOWOW. I would like to thank UFC on behalf of those loyal fans. Welcome back!” said WOWOW Inc. President, Akira Tanaka.

UFC’s commitment to the Asia-Pacific region is driving exponential brand growth with increases seen in fandom, live events and athletes as the organization continues its investment across the MMA ecosystem. This week UFC will also launch a dedicated podcast in Japan called, Who Is UFC. The new show will be hosted by MMA super fans Mitsunori Fukuda and Maki Nishiyama, each week the hosts will welcome a celebrity guest to talk about everything UFC. This week Fukuda-san and Maki-san will welcome MMA athlete and commentator, Kenji Osawa as their very first guest. Fans can tune in via UFC’s digital platforms, for more information visit Facebook.com/UFC.jp, Line: @UFCJapan, Youtube.com/UFCJapan and Twitter: UFC_JP

INJURIES FORCE ADAMS AND PULISIC TO WITHDRAW FROM U.S. MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER FOR KICKOFF SERIES MATCHES AGAINST COLOMBIA AND PERU

Fafa Picault Added to Roster; 23 players Will Report to Camp This Weekend

CHICAGO (Oct. 5, 2017) – U.S. Men’s National Team midfielders Tyler Adams and Christian Pulisic have been forced to withdraw from the upcoming Kickoff Series matches again Colombia and Peru due to injury.

Adams has been suffering from back spasms, while Pulisic is sidelined with a torn calf muscle.

Philadelphia Union winger Fafa Picault has been added to the roster, with 23 players now set to report to Tampa this weekend. The 27-year-old has earned one cap for the MNT, entering as asubstitute in the 3-1 win against Puerto Rico on May 22, 2016, in Bayamon.

More than 25,000 tickets have been sold for the next stop of the Kickoff Series when the United States will host 14th-ranked Colombia on Oct. 11 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. FS1, UniMas and UDN will broadcast the match beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. [KICKOFF SERIES TICKETS]

The final home match of the Kickoff Series pits the MNT against 21 st-ranked Peru on Oct. 16 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. ESPN2, UniMas and UDN will broadcast live beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.

DEVIN “THE DREAM” HANEY NOW WORLD RANKED #8 BY THE WBA, WORLD TITLE SHOT RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER

LAS VEGAS, NV (October 5, 2018) – Undefeated phenom, Devin “The Dream” Haney(20-0, 13 KOs), is making noise in the lightweight division as the 19-year-old fighter is now ranked #8 by the WBA after his 10-round unanimous decision win over Juan Carlos Burgos (33-3-2, 21 KOs) last Friday night on ShoBox: The Next Generation, broadcast worldwide by Showtime.

Haney, a blue-chip prospect, dominated the former three-time world title challenger Burgos in their recent clash. The impressive feat has many fans and media members alike clamoring for Haney to be in contention for a world title shot.

“I believe in my skill and speed, I am second to none,” said Haney. “I’m the next superstar in the sport. Right now, I am focused on each and every fight. The media and fans can bring up exciting fights for me to take or even mention my name amongst world champions, but the main goal for me is to focus on the fights presented in front of me.”

Haney, who is not just a world title contender, but also a promoter, who promoted his fight last Friday night on Showtime under his promotional banner, Devin Haney Promotions.

“I am doing things differently than others my age,” Haney continued. “I am a promoter and a world-class fighter, so it is important that I stay very focused. I’m knocking on the doorstep of a world title. My time is coming.”